Setting up company - costs?

M

MidlandsBase

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I am looking at the prospect of setting up a Limited Company. I am based in the Portlaoise area and am enquirying as to what is the general price for setting up a company. €500 was quoted by one accountant. Anyway give me a general price guide and recomendations for an accountant?

Thanks.
 
that's in around what it cost me and I did it online with cfi.ie, I've no connection with them but found them to be very good
 
where your based is not important as you can do it all
over the phone and by post.+(a trip to your local notary)

do a google on Company Formations and have a look at all
the results.

actual cost to set up a company yourself.

CRO fee €60
Standard Memos & Articles €5
Notarary to stamp €10
Total €75

Best if you read up on what to do at the CRO website, even
if you decide to go with a formation agent you will at least
be able identify when he is giving you bulls**t in order to
justify his costs.

Also most accountants just outsource this work to a Company
Formation Agent, so Compnay Formation Agents will probably
be cheaper than accountants but still expensive when you
consider all they do is check the website and fill out a few forms.
 
Thanks for that. I have come across the following types of companies. I am unsure of the differences between some of them but would a Private Limited Company be the most popular used?

Private Limited Companies
[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=-2][size=-1]Company limited by guarantee not having a share capital[/size][/size][/font]
[font=Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][size=-2][size=-1]Company limited by guarantee having a share capital[/size][/size][/font]
Public Limited Company
Single Member Company
Unlimited Company
 
Don't in any circumstances set up a company without first getting advice from an accountant on (1) whether you need one in the first instance; (2) the tax implications; and (3) the obligations you face once your company is formed.

If you put a foot wrong in the early stages, for example by missing deadline dates with the Companies Office, you will face potentially stiff fines and the possibility of having a black mark against your name if you ever want to set up or run another company.

The accountant's fee for company setup will usually incorporate an element of advice that you will not usually get if you deal directly with the company formation agencies.

Private limited company is the most common structure.

Re recommendations, your best course of action is to go with someone who is recommended by friends or colleagues that you can trust. Beware of anonymous recommendations on websites such as this as some of these can be people recommending themselves.
 
I have setup my own company myself and the costs worked out as follows;

CRO fee €60
Standard Memos & Articles €0 (wrote my own)
Notarary to stamp €0 (A friend who did it for free)
Stamp duty €1 (minimum amount payable)
=======
Total: €61

Company formation agents costs are unjustified in my opinion.
There is more than enough information on starting your own business out there which cover tax implications, legal obligations and resons for the type of legal entity you should register and after that, if you have any further questions with respect to your specific situation, you can contact the CRO, fourms such as this etc. Also, you can download the eBook "How to form a limited company" in PDF format from www.startingabusinessinireland.com for €15.
 
ivorystraws said:
Standard Memos & Articles €0 (wrote my own)
QUOTE]

Thats all well and good if you have a bit of legal knowledge but tinkering around with these if you don't know what you are doing could result in fatal flaws in your company. By wrote your own I assume you don't mean from scratch but rather you customised some standard ones such as the Table A samples?

Given the level of knowledge demonstrated by the original poster in asking the difference between Private companies, Public companies, Limited by guarantee etc. I think they would be best advised getting professional advice rather than trying to do it themselves.
Click to expand...
 
Sorry dam099, I do agree with your point that the original poster should get advise on this whole matter if he is unfamiliar with it but I just don't agree in oaying through the nose for it when that information already exists.
I was originally unfamiliar with the whole process and did tonnes of research before I incorporated my first company.
When I say I wrote my own Memos & Articles, it is possible to buy them for a legal stationer and basically fill in the blanks by comparing them to other businesses of the same nature i.e. On the CRO website, obtain some Memos & Articles of Association from a recent business of the same nature (which most likely was completed by a professional) and voila, a valid legal template from which to copy!! I did it and the CRO approved it with absolutely no problems. They can always be amended when the Company starts making money but I definitely don't see why this incorporation process takes a professional to do it, especially since it's been done 1000's of times before by other professionals.

Show me a start-up which has loads of money to waste on services such as this and I'll show you three companies which have choked due to lack of investment.
 
ivorystraws said:
I was originally unfamiliar with the whole process and did tonnes of research before I incorporated my first company.
When I say I wrote my own Memos & Articles, it is possible to buy them for a legal stationer and basically fill in the blanks by comparing them to other businesses of the same nature i.e. On the CRO website, obtain some Memos & Articles of Association from a recent business of the same nature (which most likely was completed by a professional) and voila, a valid legal template from which to copy!! I did it and the CRO approved it with absolutely no problems. They can always be amended when the Company starts making money but I definitely don't see why this incorporation process takes a professional to do it, especially since it's been done 1000's of times before by other professionals.
Click to expand...

I hope these standard ones have for example a broad objects clause because if you get this wrong everything or perhaps more likely certain acts you do could be ultra vires and you then lose the limited liability shield i.e. the directors are personally liable. And even if it has a broad objects clause the person filling in the form needs to understand enough to know that they should probably leave it alone and not decide "ah sure I don't need all that I will just put down Sweet shop" and then goes and borrows money two years later without the power in the objects to do so.

When you say you did tonnes of research, how much time did this take? Your time has a value too was it worth the time spent to save EUR358 (edit price per CFI website less cost of doing it yourself)? Maybe it was I suppose if you are now more informed about companies in general and more appreciative of your responsibilities and deadlines etc. But would your time have been better spent on your business plan and market research leaving the legal nitty gritty for professionals?
 
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Like I said previously, if someone incorporates their own company with their own Memos & Articles, they can always get it reviewed by a professional at a later date if they wish... the Memos & Articles aren't set in stone.

Yes, my time is very valuable to me and I am now more informed about companies in general and more appreciative of my responsibilities and deadlines which is essential knowledge for any director of a new company.

My time could not have been better spent, as a company's Memorandum and Articles of Association are the legal foundations of any company and just because I choose to spend some of my time on this, does not in any way mean it impacted the development of my business plan or market research in any way!

I wouldn't belittle the amount saved in any way, as, for example, €500 (as in my case) would pay a developer to build a website with the following project requirements as originally stipulated for my eCommerce project;

- The project vendor should include Website hosting in the overall package cost
- The project vendor should also provide 3 months support after completion of the site and also deliver the complete code and graphics related files once site is complete.
- The website should provide a COMPLETELY PROFESSIONAL ECOMMERCE SOLUTION with several payment options for the online payment gateway available to customers. The website should allow my customers to browse my product line including accessories, choose options, place an order, view their order history, edit their account information and choose their shipping method.
- The website vendor that undertakes this project should agree to provide UNLIMITED REVISIONS until satisfaction with FREE website mockup/prototypes to be provided so as to help finalize the requirements and determine how best to proceed.
- The website vendor should be able to provide some type of FREE SEO SERVICE with strategies for getting top ranking lists in major search engines as standard. It should provide keywords, description, meta tags as per the site concept to provide better online marketing of the site and to ensure it will be search engine optimized. I would also like to see a few ight weight graphics and banners that load fast in browsers and impart a clean look and feel to the web in order to promote my prestigious business image.
- As part of the website solution, I feel it should provide;
* me with a complete admin panel so I can easily maintain/manage my products, add, edit, delete products directly from the website, upload images, check inventory, monitor customers and build an email mailing list for a newsletter. The admin panel should be strongly password protected. There should be a reports section to generate reports of sale, requests, enquiries etc.
* the possibility for a database driven website, ideally in MYSQL which will provide dynamically extendable features like user registration, product catalogue, forum, auto emails, enquiry form, feedback form, competition form, etc..
* some webstats for the site which can monitor the site's performance, check hits etc
* There should also be extensive session, cookie and cache based user login and page browsing to allow features like password protected pages to be included in the site.
- The website solution should conform to current web standards and should have quick page load time. It should use XHTML for markup and CSS for presentation rendered with most popular and common CSS styling. The website designs used shall be customized to provide a similar look and feel across various browser platforms e.g. IE4+, Mozilla, Firefox, Netscape, Opera etc.


Now for approximately 600 euro, I have incorporated my Company successfully, regisered .ie and .com domain names and setup a fully operation eCommerce Website which is actively trading!!

Can you estimate how much that figure would be if I completed the above using your methodology and thinking?? Can you estimate how much less I would know about my business if I didn't get involved from the ground up and managed my costs appropriately??

This is a ever changing entrepreneurial environment in which costs should be managed better to provide a higher return from the original investment.
 
Hi Ivorystraws

I know this is off topic but who did you get to develop and host your website in the end and would you recommend them to others/

C
 
Hi Capaill,

I put my eCommerce website development up for tender on www.elance.com and various web developers with differing ratings and portfolio's placed a bid on it. In order to do this successfully, I draughted a PRD (Project Requirements Document), a SLA (Service Level Agreement) and a SOA (Statement of Work) that the winning bidders had to adhere to in order to complete the project to specifications and on time.
I found it a fantastic service, invaluable to my business and would definitely recommend to anyone on this forum. I use it exclusively now for graphic design, SEO work, marketing etc etc.

Hope that helps.

Regards,
A.
 
Hi Ivorystraws

just as a matter of interest, did you have a particular reason for setting up the company, rather than opting to register as a sole trader. In my own experience, forming a company is a waste of time, money and flexibility for most start-up businesses.
 
Hi Ubiquitous,

I setup a company and subsequently registered businesses under that company name online with the CRO. These businesses are mainly eCommerce businesses. I incorporated as a company for the following reasons;
- I wanted limited liability status
- The only income taxable on me, as the owner of the business, is any salaries or dividends which I take from the business
- The option to apply for the BES scheme
- The scope it allows me for tax planning

The downside of being a sole trader is that you have no protection if your business fails. All your assets become available to pay off your creditors.

I didn't find the cost of formating the company or the time it took to do this as prohibitive so I guess your experience to date differs from me.

An expert on this whole area would be Brian 'O Kane of www.startingabusinessinireland.com who is selling the eBook on "How to Form a Limited Company" on his website.
If, for any reason, an entrepreneur would like to incorporate a company, they should refer to this eBook. However, if they don't have the time to do this or they have sufficient money to waste on getting a "professional" to do it, then I'd advise consultation with an accountant/solicitor or company formation agent.
 
In the end I contacted a company through www.privateresearch.ie who talked me through all my options. The total cost to create a limited company with them is €252 + Vat.. about .001% of my investment startup. One less item to worry about.
 
Hi ivorystraws

Thanks for letting us know the specifics of your own case. Do bear in mind that since the enactment of the 2001 Company Law Enforcement Act, limited liability protection has been diluted to the point of uselessness for most small company directors, as it provides that directors are to be held personally liable for undischarged company debts where these debts have arisen due to the "negligence" of the directors. The term "negligence" can in this situation be defined widely, even to include cases of genuine business failure, where the directors have acted with 100% integrity and prudence.

For example, there is nothing to stop a creditor pursuing a director for a company debt by claiming that the director was negligent in not having sufficient funding in place within the company, or in committing the company to undertake unprofitable projects, or simply in failing to ensure that the company had marketed their product or service properly, if the company collapses due to any or all of these factors.

The opportunity for constructive tax planning is usually the best reason for forming a company. Likewise in your own scenario the possibility of availing of BES in the future. However you will not really have much scope for proper tax planning, unless either you have a thorough knowledge of all relevant tax issues, or you hire professional advisor for this purpose. The potential usefulness of tax planning varies from business to business and depends as much on the circumstances of each individual case as on external factors.

In my own opinion it is worthwhile gauging this potential with the benefit of professional advice at the outset before committing oneself to the expense and bother of forming and maintaining a company that may prove superfluous in the long run.
 
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